In Detail

Microsoft's SQL Server Analysis Services 2008 is an OLAP server that allows users to analyze business data quickly and easily. However, designing cubes in Analysis Services can be a complex task: it's all too easy to make mistakes early on in development that lead to serious problems when the cube is in production. Learning the best practices for cube design before you start your project will help you avoid these problems and ensure that your project is a success.

This book offers practical advice on how to go about designing and building fast, scalable, and maintainable cubes that will meet your users' requirements and help make your Business Intelligence project a success.

This book gives readers insight into the best practices for designing and building Microsoft Analysis Services 2008 cubes. It also provides details about server architecture, performance tuning, security, and administration of an Analysis Services solution.

In this book, you will learn how to design and implement Analysis Services cubes. Starting from designing a data mart for Analysis Services, through the creation of dimensions and measure groups, to putting the cube into production, we'll explore the whole of the development lifecycle.

This book is an invaluable guide for anyone who is planning to use Microsoft Analysis Services 2008 in a Business Intelligence project.

A hands-on guide to designing Analysis Services cubes

Approach

This is a practical tutorial for Analysis Services that shows readers how to solve problems commonly encountered while designing cubes, and explains which features of Analysis Services work well and which should be avoided. The book walks through the whole cube development lifecycle, from building dimensions, cubes and calculations to tuning and moving the cube into production.

Who this book is for

This book is aimed at Analysis Services developers who already have some experience but who want to go into more detail on advanced topics, and who want to learn best practices for cube design.

Alberto Ferrari

Alberto Ferrari has achieved Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) Maestro status and is a consultant and trainer who specializes in developing Microsoft BI solutions. He is the coauthor of Microsoft PowerPivot for Excel 2010 and Expert Cube Development with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services and SQLBI Methodology.

Chris Webb

Chris Webb (chris@crossjoin.co.uk), SQL Server MVP, has been working with Microsoft Business Intelligence tools for over twelve years in a variety of roles and industries. He is an independent consultant and trainer based in the UK, specializing in Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services and the MDX query language. He is the co-author of two books, “MDX Solutions for Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services 2005 and Hyperion Essbase” and “Expert Cube Development with SQL Server Analysis Services 2008”, and is a regular speaker at conferences and user groups. His blog is available at http://cwebbbi.wordpress.com.

Marco Russo

MARCO RUSSO is a software consultant and trainer based in Italy who focuses on Windows development and Business Intelligence solutions, including data warehouse relational and multidimensional design. He is the coauthor of Introducing Microsoft LINQ and Programming Microsoft LINQ (Microsoft Press), along with several other books about Microsoft .NET and SQL Server Analysis Services.